Bulletin Business Briefs (e-edition)
Published 6:55 pm Thursday, December 7, 2023
Nike has quietly laid off employees over the past several weeks and on Wednesday signaled plans for a broad restructuring, but it has yet to comment on the scale or reasons for the ongoing staff reductions.
In recent weeks, the company laid off employees in various divisions, including human resources, recruitment, sourcing, brand, engineering, digital products, and innovation, according to LinkedIn posts and current and former employees who spoke with The Oregonian.
Nike did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article. Multiple current employees said the company has not given employees information about the layoffs.
Nike has not notified the state of a mass layoff, which it would be required to do if it lays off 500 workers in a 90-day period.
The layoffs come as Nike works to regain lost momentum. The company’s stock is roughly flat this year while the S&P 500, a broad basket of stocks, is up 19%. Competitors have picked away at Nike’s dominance in running shoes, its legacy category.
In recent history, Nike has had large-scale layoffs every three years.
Nike is Oregon’s largest company. It had 83,700 employees worldwide as of May 31, according to its last annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Of those, 11,400 worked on the company’s roughly 400-acre headquarters campus near Beaverton.
An internal Amazon memo has provided a stark look at the company’s carefully laid out plans to grow its influence and advance its interest in Southern California.
The memo was leaked to the nonprofit labor organization Warehouse Worker Resource Center and its authenticity was verified by The Associated Press.
It shows Amazon’s efforts to burnish its reputation through charity work, push back against state legislation that limits warehouse developments and fend off what it calls “labor agitation.”
When reached for comment, Amazon did not dispute the authenticity of the document. But the company said it is proud of its philanthropic efforts. The memo was published online by the labor organization.
“Partnerships with community leaders and stakeholders help guide how Amazon gives back,” said Amazon spokesperson Jennifer Flagg. “Through employee volunteerism or our charitable donations, it is always Amazon’s intention to help support the communities where we work in a way that is most responsive to the needs of that community.”
In the memo, Amazon says its top public-policy priority in Southern California is addressing “labor agitation that uses false narratives and incorrect information to affect public opinion and impact public policy.”